Marisa Therese Buchheit is an American soprano and beauty pageant titleholder from Chicago, Illinois, who was crowned Miss Illinois 2014 in June 2014.[1] She competed in the nationally televised Miss America 2015 competition in September 2014.
Buchheit is a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a graduate of Northside College Preparatory H.S. She earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance with Academic Honors and a German Minor from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) in Cleveland, Ohio. As a student at CIM, she was elected President of the Mu Phi Epsilon Professional Music Fraternity and served for 2 terms. Her parents are Paul and Amorn Buchheit, and her brother is composer Joseph Buchheit.
Buchheit began her pageant career competing in Thai Cultural Pageants at the Wat Dhammaram Buddhist Temple on Chicago's South Side. She placed 1st Runner Up at the Miss Songkran Festival Pageant in May 2005. In 2006, she competed in the Miss Illinois Teen USA Pageant. She placed in the Top 15 as one of 180 contestants.
As a senior in high school at Northside College Preparatory H.S.,[2] Buchheit competed in several local preliminaries of the Miss America Organization. She was named 1st Runner Up to Miss West Cook County 2008. The original titleholder stepped down, and Buchheit was given the title and opportunity to compete at Miss Illinois 2008. She was named the Non-Finalist Talent Winner with her performance of "O mio babbino caro" by Puccini. In 2012, Buchheit returned as Miss Chicago and was named a Top 10 Finalist in the Miss Illinois 2012 competition. Buchheit returned as Miss Heart of Illinois in 2013 and was named 3rd Runner Up to Miss Illinois. In her final year of eligibility, Buchheit came back as Miss Chicago and won the Miss Illinois 2014 title [3] and the Top Talent Award.[4]
During her college years at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Buchheit competed in the Miss Ohio pageant twice. In 2010 she went to the statewide competition as Miss Maple City, and was named 2nd Runner Up to Miss Ohio 2010. She was a double preliminary winner, winning the Swimsuit and Talent Preliminary Awards.[5] She also won the Semi-Finalist Interview Award. She made the Top 10 as Miss Greater Cleveland in 2011.
On February 8, 2014, Buchheit was crowned Miss Chicago 2014. She entered the Miss Illinois pageant at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center in June 2014 as one of 31 qualifiers for the state title. She was named a Preliminary Talent Winner for her performance of "Je veux vivre" from the opera Roméo et Juliette by Gounod. Her platform was "From STEM to STEAM", with a mission of keeping the fine arts in Illinois schools.[8]
Buchheit won the competition on Saturday, June 14, 2014, receiving her crown from outgoing Miss Illinois 2013 Brittany Smith.[9] She earned more than $15,000 in scholarship money as well as other prizes from the state pageant. As Miss Illinois, her activities included public appearances across the state of Illinois.
Buchheit was Illinois' representative at the Miss America 2015 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2014.[10] In the televised finale on September 14, 2014, she was not named a semi-finalist but was awarded a $3,000 scholarship. Her black and white swimsuit received special attention during broadcast preceding the competition.[11]
Buchheit later competed at Miss Illinois USA 2018 pageant and representing Lincoln Park in her final year of eligibility in the Miss USA division, finishing 1st runner-up to eventual winner Karolina Jasko.[citation needed]
Buchheit is an aspiring professional opera singer and an award-winning vocalist.[12] She has performed with symphony orchestras, in chamber music concerts, outdoor festivals, and in fully staged musicals and operas around the world.
In January 2012, Buchheit released a debut album of 6 original songs entitled Mari Therese: All Yours. The first 2 tracks on the album were produced by Azica Records in Cleveland, Ohio. The remaining tracks were produced in Chicago. Instrumentation includes Buchheit on vocals and guitar, Joe Buchheit on keyboard, Anthony Sobun on bass, Juan Garcia-Spitz on guitar, Isaac Krantz-Perlman on percussion, Wesley Skinner on cello, and Victor Beyens on violin.
